"Haonan, make a ladder!" Ren Yuanyang ordered.
"You got it!" Qin Haonan immediately used the metal from the speedboat to fashion a ladder and hooked it onto the side of the supply ship.
"Chief, let me go up first!" Yu Ren stepped forward, taking the lead and walking to the metal ladder.
"Wait. Take this spider plant with you. It can purify the Confusing Fragrance from the air," Ren Yuanyang called out, stopping him.
Yu Ren paused for a moment, then immediately took it and climbed up the metal ladder onto the ship.
"Haonan, Ziyu, your priority is to protect the Chief!" Lu Jiamei said in a low voice, seeing that Ren Yuanyang was also about to board.
As Gold-Type Evolvers, the two of them were much better suited to protecting Ren Yuanyang than Lu Jiamei, a Water-Type.
"Don’t worry, Sister Mei," Qin Haonan nodded.
The group boarded the supply ship with the spider plant. Yu Ren, who had gone up first, was already walking out from the ship’s cabin.
"Chief, your Confusing Fragrance works wonders! Everyone in the cabin is out cold!" Yu Ren said with a grin. "However, it looks like there’s also a batch of our fellow countrymen inside. I’m not sure what the situation is."
"Whatever the situation is, let’s get the ship moving first," Ren Yuanyang ordered.
Qin Haonan eagerly rushed into the cockpit, rubbing his hands together. "Alright! I’ve never driven a big ship before!"
Qin Haonan successfully started up the supply ship and began steering it toward Peach Blossom Base.
"A big ship really is different. Much more stable," Ren Yuanyang remarked.
Lu Jiamei looked at the unconscious people and asked with a frown, "Chief, what should we do with them?"
"I say we kill them all. They’re not our people, so they can’t be trusted," Yu Ren suggested.
"All this good labor? It would be a waste to kill them. Weren’t they trying to recruit you? Now you can be the one to recruit them. Give them a taste of their own medicine," Ren Yuanyang said, shaking his head slightly.
Yu Ren was taken aback for a second, then nodded happily. "Great idea!"
"Our base also needs people to learn how to pilot, maintain, and fight with a large ship. They still have their uses," Ren Yuanyang continued. "Besides, don’t you want to know about the situation at Xi’an Base?"
Lu Jiamei and the others all nodded in unison.
This Xi’an Base had appeared out of nowhere and even sent several teams to search for Peach Blossom Base. They had to find someone to interrogate and figure out what was really going on.
The supply ship’s top speed was only about twenty-seven knots, roughly fifty kilometers per hour. From their current position, it was still nearly three hundred kilometers to Peach Blossom Base.
With a speedboat, the trip would have only taken about three hours, but now the time had more than doubled.
At their current speed, they probably wouldn’t get back to Peach Blossom Base until around nine in the morning.
Jin Ziyu used her Gold-Type Superpower to bind all the soldiers from Xi’an Base, while Lu Jiamei confiscated all of their phones.
Two hours later, the soldiers from Xi’an Base finally began to stir. When they discovered they were bound by metal, their faces paled in horror.
"What’s going on?"
"We’re a team from Xi’an Base! Whoever dares to attack us is asking for death!"
"Let me go!"
Ren Yuanyang spoke coolly, "The three who are shouting the loudest. Kill them."
"Yes, sir!" Jin Ziyu responded in a low voice. With a wave of her hand, three daggers flew out and plunged into the hearts of the three men.
The three men screamed as they collapsed, and soon, they fell silent.
Seeing this, the other captives immediately quieted down.
"It seems we can have a proper chat now," Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "From this moment on, no one is to make a sound. I will speak to each of you individually. If I find any inconsistencies in your stories, everyone I have already spoken to will die."
Ren Yuanyang scanned the group, then pointed at the supply captain. "Jiamei, bring him into the room."
"Yes, sir!" Lu Jiamei acknowledged and pulled the supply captain to his feet.
Once in the captain’s office, Ren Yuanyang looked at the supply captain and began, "Talk. Which base are you from, and what are you doing here?"
The supply captain frowned slightly. Someone had already announced their identity, so Ren Yuanyang was clearly doing this on purpose.
But he still had to answer. He didn’t want to die.
"We’re a supply ship from Xi’an Base, here to provide supplies for those speedboats," the supply captain answered truthfully.
"What are those speedboats doing out here?"
"Searching for Peach Blossom Base."
"Does Peach Blossom Base have a grudge with you? Why are you searching for it?"
"We skirmished with a speedboat earlier and came out on the losing end. Based on the plant-based weapons they used, the higher-ups at our base deduced it was probably Peach Blossom Base. They even contacted Dawn Base specifically to get information on them. After that, they dispatched search teams to this area of the sea."
Hearing this, Ren Yuanyang was slightly taken aback. He pressed on, "Are they sure Peach Blossom Base is in this area?"
"I don’t know about that. The search teams’ orders were just to look around this vicinity," the supply captain said, shaking his head.
Ren Yuanyang narrowed his eyes, then changed the subject. "What’s the story with those Dragon Country People on the ship?"
The supply captain replied, "That’s human cargo Dawn Base sold to our base. Two tons of water per person."
At these words, Ren Yuanyang was shocked. "What? Dawn Base is selling people to you?"
"It’s not really selling, to be honest. These people are all going to Xi’an Base voluntarily," the supply captain continued to explain.
Ren Yuanyang froze, but then he immediately understood the reason why.
Dawn Base was extremely short on water. If these people stayed there, they would likely die of thirst. Going to Xi’an Base was their only chance for survival.
"Tell me about this ship," Ren Yuanyang continued.
"This is a 50,000-ton supply ship. The materials on board include..." The supply captain began to list everything in detail.
When he was finished, Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly and waved his hand, signaling Lu Jiamei to take him away.
He then randomly selected a few more captives for interrogation. The results were basically the same, so Ren Yuanyang handed the rest of the interrogation work over to Lu Jiamei.
After waking up, the two hundred Dragon Country People were in a state of terror.
They had chosen to go to Xi’an Base to seek a chance at life. But they had just set off and hadn’t even reached Xi’an Base before being knocked unconscious. ’Doesn’t this prove that Xi’an Base was just planning to use us for experiments?!’
"Did they get so impatient they started experimenting on us on the way?"
"I was hoping to at least have my fill of water before I died. I can’t believe Xi’an Base wouldn’t even give me that chance!"
"Does anyone feel anything wrong with their bodies?"
"Other than being a little dizzy, I don’t think so?"
"They must have done something to us while we were knocked out. Maybe we just can’t feel it yet!"
Just then, Ren Yuanyang walked into the cabin where the Dragon Country People were being held.
When the people saw one of their own countrymen walk in, they all stared in a daze.
"Let me introduce myself. I am the chief of Peach Blossom Base. We have taken control of this ship. You have no choice but to join Peach Blossom Base," Ren Yuanyang said, looking at the crowd.
Someone finally snapped out of it and shouted, "I know we have no choice, but before I die, I just want a few more sips of water!"
Others immediately chimed in, "That’s right! Just let me drink my fill, I don’t care about anything else!"
Ren Yuanyang smiled and replied, "Why die? After you join Peach Blossom Base, you’ll have a lot of work to do."
The crowd was taken aback.
"As for the water you mentioned, our base has an unlimited supply for you to drink," Ren Yuanyang continued with a smile on his face.
"What? Unlimited? How is that possible!" someone exclaimed.
Ren Yuanyang didn’t explain further. Instead, he said, "If you’re thirsty, you can quench your thirst with the water on this ship for now. But I can’t guarantee its quality, since it’s not from our base."
Hearing this, everyone was stunned once more.
"Um, Chief, does that mean we’re free to move around?"
"Yes. As long as you don’t interfere with piloting the ship or cause any trouble, you are free to move about," Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Chief!" the people shouted in unison.
Ren Yuanyang waved his hand and left the cabin.
"Can we really go out?" someone asked, still in disbelief.
"What’s there to be afraid of? Choosing to go to Xi’an Base was as good as choosing death anyway. I’ll go out first and scout the way for everyone!" one man declared, then strode out of the room.

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